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International companions

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:16:15 GMT

This is the last post: Lent writings start tomorrow at www.peacefulones.blogspot.com
***
For the first three days of the week, I’m among international companions. When I first began my doctoral studies, I became fascinated by the influence of world missionaries who teach on Christian college campuses. Since our denomination’s program hadn’t had a review in its thirty-year history, I wrote up my examination on how schools and individuals had worked together.

“That’s not what we want to do with the Missionary in Residence program,” said the director when he read the paper. “We are now looking for the best and brightest, not just anyone who needs a reason to be off the field for a year.” The culmination of our conversations and his department’s desire to revise their documents is this three-day conference, hosted by our university. “Go for it,” said my boss when I asked if we wanted to have the international educators come our way. “But you have to be the point person for it.” The head of the MIR program set the agenda and schedule but I had to pull event details together.

I had the flu all last week, but somehow things seem to work out. My exceptional student assistant and Indonesian daughter Kristi worked hard to bring details together. After the first long day of meetings, thirty-some came to our house for dinner. I scooted home two hours early to prepare the meal with the help of another lovely young woman, my daughter-in-law Melissa. We served three courses: an initial seating of salad and bread; then a move to sit with a new group for the main course of lasagna and two vegetable dishes; and a final seat scramble to enjoy cheesecake with peach slices and a maraschino cherry. (I ate vegan soup before they came since I couldn't eat much of what we served.)

Nearly everyone talked to everyone else. For fun, we sang a few rousing missionary recruitment hymns (oh oh, we’ve forgotten most of the words), and then each person prayed a short request or thanksgiving. They gathered around to lay hands on Paul, who asked to be a stand-in on behalf of our daughter. Passionate requests, fervent prayer… how we thank God for his grace and good friends.

Today, various classrooms benefited from guest lectures. University students had the chance to visit with the international professionals at dinner in the cafeteria. Tomorrow, we begin with a two-hour review, then take the missionaries to Seattle for lunch and a tour. It’s been valuable, both for the participants and the future of the program.

I’m so lucky to be part of it. To hear the stories. To broaden my network of global contacts to benefit the young generation. To watch history in the making. And I’ll probably be glad when another event is over.

Read more:
*Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Psalm 115:3 NIV

*Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. if you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer. Proverbs 9:11–12 NKJV

*Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NIV

Gadget gluttony

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:22:55 GMT

This blog disappears Wednesday next week and will be posted only at www.peacefulones.blogspot.com.
***
I occasionally check out www.woot.com, a deal-a-day site for gadgets and electronics. Today they posted a practical garden item, an automatic hose reel that would solve several problems: keep me clean when I rewind the hose, keep the handle on our current hose reel from wrecking the benches nearby, and cover the ugly mess of the exposed hose on our front porch. (The plumbing was an ‘on-the-spot’ decision in our mostly thought-out home, so the main wall hose outlet is by the front door.)

We are looking for savings here and there, and an executive decision was made not to purchase (by the other executive). Our basement, garage, and attic are full of stuff that doesn’t work and/or has never been used. Still, I was ticked when the item sold out during discussion. Some people know a great idea as soon as they see it, I thought to myself.

Then I reconsidered. Adding to the jumble we already have doesn’t make life better. The old hose reel works: it would just expand existing clutter until we freecycle (www.freecycle.org). Since the other executive today officially became the new hose-reeler-in-er, we’ve protected our home from one more gadget. Now to guard from other incoming "goods" while we sort and shed the rest of the hoard...

Read more:
*Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah's towns. So Asa's kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. During those peaceful years, he was able to build up the fortified towns throughout Judah. No one tried to make war against him at this time, for the LORD was giving him rest from his enemies.

Asa told the people of Judah, 'Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God, and he has given us peace on every side.' So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion. 2 Chronicles 14:5–7 NIV

*Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don't bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you." Proverbs 9:7–8 NLT

* Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:2-6 NIV

What a difference a day makes

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:01:29 GMT

Reminder: only a few posts left before this site ends. Lenten posts will only be available at www.peacefulones.blogspot.com.
****
Cough cough. I’m grateful for remote computers so I can work from home. I have a nasty flu, complete with dry throat, coughing, runny nose, and headache. But I’m happy.

This week brought several bits of news to define the months ahead. Our daughter arranged knee replacement surgery in Seattle. Best of all, it’s scheduled less than two weeks after big brother Jeremy’s wedding to Rebekah. One flight this way and back. Kirsten can’t wait to show her surgeon that she’s gained weight and is otherwise doing fine – he’s seen her through four operations and always worried about her frail health. And we’re glad to be able to care for her at home during recovery.

The seminary coordinator wrote students yesterday that AGTS has received permission for a new PhD in Intercultural Studies. Those in the D. Miss program (study of missions) can upgrade to the new degree. Ah, if it hadn’t come through I would have finished my class work this summer, but this tacks on an extra year for a more useful degree. Because I haven’t spent my life in overseas missions or with a missions organization, there’s occasionally doubt that I belong in the company of intercultural professionals. All I know is what I hear when I read scripture and pray – and that is to keep moving ahead.

Good news, more planning for Monday’s national missions faculty conference… what a difference an ordinary day makes in the long run of life.

Read more:
*For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me
with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

*[Jesus]"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10: 27-30 NLT

*And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. …Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Romans 8:28, 32 NLT

*God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:1-3 NKJV

Water, water everywhere

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:48:24 GMT

******This blog moves to www.peacefulones.blogspot.com next Wednesday when Lent begins.******

I really enjoyed the talk in church last Sunday. The visiting speaker completed a series on the Lord’s Prayer with, “For thine is the power and the glory…” He talked about God’s power, which sometimes becomes available to us as we move forward rather than while we are waiting in a safe place for God’s supernatural intervention. The presenter gave good examples: Moses was commanded to stretch his hand over the Red Sea and give the order to march. When he obeyed, the waters parted and Israelites escaped the Egyptian armies, walking through on dry land before the enemy soldiers and their horses drowned on the same course. Joshua also led the nation through the Jordan, which piled up its waters upstream in spite of being at flood stage. Again, the Israelites walked through without a splash.

It occurred to me that I’m tired of walking into the water and coming through soaked. Seems instead of the waters miraculously parting, I get handed a big towel to dry off on the other side after an exhausting swim of faith. Of course, my job is obedience. “The floodwaters will not overwhelm you,” said Isaiah the prophet.

Yeah, I guess there are times when the waters part, and times when a strong swim is in order. Depends on the journey rather than the water. The call to faith-filled obedience is the same. Swimming or striding.

Read more:
*The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. Psalm 29:10 NIV

*If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel say- if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124 NIV

*But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… Isaiah 43:1-3a NIV

*I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." Luke 7:47-49 NIV

The look of love

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:40:01 GMT

This morning I get stuck on a voicemail hold with a company that gives "free" trials for makeup products. I got tired of the barrage of ads for Raw Minerals so I decided to give them a try. The trial period was 30 days, except that Seattle snow delayed delivery by a week. Their due date to charge my credit card was 30 days from shipping. I actually had about two weeks to try their products, not 30 days.

When I called the company for a return number because the powders were too drying, I was sent another package of moisturizer. This time I didn't have to pay $10 for postage of the 'freebie.' It doesn't suit my skin, so this morning I call again and wait ten minutes to talk to a live person. ("You are currently second in line, a representative will be with you shortly." Whatever.) After getting a return code, along with, "Did you open the box? Then you have to pay return postage," I get off the phone, toss the brochures I haven't looked at into recycling, empty the makeup contents into the garbage, toss away the packaging, and seal up the box of empty bottles for minimum freight.

One popular Canadian TV show is Style by Jury, where an unsuspecting 'ugly' woman or man is judged on first impressions. After a week of haircut, dental veneers, glamour makeup, a fashion shopping spree, business or bombshell coaching, and perhaps even psychological help, the person faces a second jury. The transformation is stunning and the first impression is "Wow!" not "Yuck!" (Hollywood stars had better look fabulous, with all the external manipulation available.)

All these miracle products and vitamins, all the annoying muzak to suffer through while buying or returning the trappings of attractiveness, all the vain attempts to look better, younger, and more eye-catching... I both amused and saddened by efforts of my generation to keep our youth. With the best mirrors available, we delude ourselves into thinking we can stay young and fresh. We're getting saggy, plump or skeletal, and wrinkly as our bodies slide through middle age to old age. That's the way the body is designed to work in every generation!

I'm glad God weighs the renewal of the heart, not the deterioration of our skin. This Valentines weekend, I'm privileged to enjoy the company of friends aging alongside me. My husband and I will sit across the tables of two big dinner groups. Ages will range from late 30s to 80s. Through the eyes of love, every face will glow with inner beauty, if not with eternal youth.

Read more:
*God's way is perfect. All the LORD's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. …You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping." Psalm 18:30–32, 36 NLT

*My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Proverbs 2:1-8 NIV

*Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 NLT

*But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26 NIV

Love is enough

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:25:45 GMT

Remember: this blog disappears next Wed. at Lent. New site: http://peacefulones.blogspot.com

As Valentine’s approaches, love in its various forms pops up on billboards, posters, web advertisements, and love songs on the radio. When the contemporary Christian music station plays “Worthy of our love, we will see you soon,” it stops me in my tracks. “I will rise when he calls my name, no more sorrow, no more pain… on eagle’s wings before my God, [I] fall on my knees.” (Chris Tomlin) I feel homesick.

Even as a little girl, I wanted to see God. To love him without human limitations and blinders. To adore without restraint. To approach without the fear of a creature before the Creator. What would it be like to be totally open, to welcome being known completely, and offer pure worship?

I woke this morning praying for our daughter, whose “good” knee has given way to arthritis. That means another round of surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation. Trauma for her and anguish for parents and bystanders. When the God I love could easily speak a word to heal her completely, I can only shake my head at his reluctance. There’s so much I don’t know or understand, even when surrounded by the prayers of many. But I open my heart to be warmed by his love through my husband’s kiss, my children’s smiles, and the cheerful hello of friends. That much I can grasp.

“You’ve already shown me love that will last, that never fails, that is kind,” (song by Tammy Trent) “[I] celebrate the mystery and the love you’ve already shown me, demonstrated when you hung there on the cross…” His love gives so much. And it has to be enough for the day.

Check out the Valentine’s book tour – ideas to love more and better: I've got a copy of each to give away.

Amazon Links:
I Do Again: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400074452
Love As A Way Of Life Devo: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307444694
For Couples Only: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601422482

Read more:
*As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15: 9-11 NIV

*The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. Acts 17:24-25 NLT

Cold sore

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:03:20 GMT

This blog is disappearing to www.peacefulones.blogspot.com next Wednesday.

***
My mom had a lot of company while I was in my teens. “After you left, it was harder to have people over,” she told me when I was a newlywed. Seems all that table-setting, serving, and cleanup we did together made hospitality easier. My daughter’s health challenges in her teens meant one of the things we missed out on was keeping company in the kitchen. Mom and I bonded as friends as we dished up food and washed dishes together.

On the job and at home, I still throw parties. I’ve noticed that after each college reunion I get a cold sore. The current one started the morning after the last event. It’s a response to the strain of planning a day for strangers. How many are coming (or not), what are their interests, or what will their response be? A university needs the support of its alumni and parents, whether that is with finances or recruitment. And so we invite them back home, not knowing if they will show up... or if they will have bought an ox, sold a field, or if they just feel too busy.

After my first event on the job, one of the assistants flopped down on a chair in my office. “Wow, you are a breath of fresh air! You don’t yell at us or get all stressed out!” Yell? What would that help? Our team plans every possible detail and then flows through the day as it evolves. But the pressure – even if it’s internal – shows itself on my lip the morning after. I can’t wait for this cold sore to heal up. The next event is dinner for 21 at home this weekend… and the one after that is a three day conference for about 40 at the university in two weeks. Someone, please grab the Carmex! (http://www.mycarmex.com/heal/default.aspx)

Read more:
*But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NLT

*I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 NKJV

*Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:1-2 NLT

*But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8 NLT

Cold sore

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:02:39 GMT

What are you thinking?!

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:31:33 GMT

I'm now blogging at http://peacefulones.blogspot.com. Thinking of phasing this site out, so switch over to follow the blog...

Ever wondered what your husband (or wife) was thinking? When we got married in 1977, premarital counseling wasn’t in vogue. Christian couples assumed we’d marry for life like our parents did. You and your young lover knew it would be rough for a while and toughed it out. What we didn’t know was that marriage was like electric shock therapy: what didn’t kill the union hopefully made you wiser.

I was idealistic. The feminist movement was in full swing, with its radical idea of job sharing at home and elsewhere. My beau agreed: we’d go to school together, he knew how to cook a few meals and would help around the house. Marital intimacy not only meant great sex, but doing things together and talking. We’d share body and soul.

Like most brides of the era, I assumed wooing continues unabated. I was stunned to find that the fellow who had hotly pursued me by enjoying everything from shopping to tying my shoelaces disappeared overnight. Back when we married, husbands—having achieved their goal of winning the bride—went on to the next task of conquering jobs, education, and other challenges. Suddenly, I was a nag for wanting help in the house or kitchen.

That first year of marriage, we attended three marriage classes on or near campus. My husband went reluctantly. My enthusiasm for finding out what he was thinking and sharing our feelings was one-sided. Poor guy - he hated every minute and made it such a misery of non-cooperation that we haven’t gone to marriage retreats or marriage seminars since.

I realized I married a totally alien being one evening after twenty years of marriage. (It took me a while!) We were driving home from a visit to friends a few hours away. The kids were sleeping behind us in the seats of the minivan, but we hadn’t talked for a half hour. My mind was churning with things we’d heard and seen. Wondering if my husband also had pent-up or anxious feelings he was processing, I turned toward him and gently asked, “What are you thinking, hon?” He looked at me blankly. Puzzled. Relaxed. “Thinking? Nothing. Well, work? the car? the stereo I’m thinking of getting? I dunno. Nothing really.”

We have locked horns, wrestled through issues, and come to like a lot about the other. I looked at my husband a few years ago and thought, “He really is my Prince Charming!” Whew.

Things may have changed on the outside, but I bet many guys today would be just as happy never to be asked, “How do you feel about that, honey?” and to have their wife keep house and watch the kids. Society has changed, and expectations of perfect communication (women) and fantastic, frequent sex (men) are higher than ever. Even as the promises and insights of premarital counseling are absorbed into the routines and stresses of daily married life.

Enter Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn. They studied at Harvard, married, have kids, volunteer at church, are national speakers… and still have had time to write an eye-opening pair of books on the inner life of spouses. Finally, here's the scoop, based on sound research and observation. They’ve sold over a million copies of For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men and For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the inner Lives of Women. The boxed set comes with a couple’s conversation starter.

I’ve got a new copy of the set to give away in time for Valentines. Let me know why your marriage could use it. Best reason (in the next 3 days) gets it.

Idée fixe

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:45:11 GMT

idée fixe \ee-day-FEEKS\ noun

Meaning: an idea that dominates one's mind especially for a prolonged period : obsession

Example Sentence: The fear that he was going to be fired became such an idée fixe for Toby that he could think of nothing else.

Sometimes we get fixed on an idea or pattern that shapes our behavior in ways that seem irrational to others. The town's junior high school was about a mile away from my house as a teen. As we walked to school, I remember counting off steps between cracks in the sidewalk. Anyone looking at my gait would have wondered at the occasionally erratic pace, the jerk of walking “out of step” to keep a steady beat to the music and shapes in my head. It became a reflex after a while.

In college, the internal music was so insistent that I would wake at night or in the morning to find myself “conducting” a beat with my feet. Sometimes the songs would surface in my consciousness; sometimes musical friends would notice that I was beating time and ask what I was hearing. The flow was nearly always worship, and I was surprised that not every Christian had compositions constantly running through their head. That for others, every day wasn't filled with melodies and words of praise and adoration streaming in endless improvisation. I was in motion from the time I was a little kid, but trained myself during the college day to move my feet rather than my whole body when the rhythm became intense.

Today, I want to hear the beat of the Spirit drum and walk to the pace of God’s heartbeat for the world. Even if that sometimes seems out of step to onlookers who can't hear it.

Read more:
** For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds. Psalm 149:4–5 NIV

*One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat. She said to her husband, "I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. Let's build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by."

One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest. He said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her." When she appeared, Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?' "

"No," she replied, "my family takes good care of me."

Later Elisha asked Gehazi, "What can we do for her?"

Gehazi replied, "She doesn't have a son, and her husband is an old man."

"Call her back again," Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, "Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!"

"No, my lord!" she cried. "O man of God, don't deceive me and get my hopes up like that." But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said. 2 Kings 4:8–17 NLT

*(Jesus) "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34, 35 NIV

*(Paul) "Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do." Acts 13:38–39 NLT